INFLUENCE OF ISOINERTIAL EXERCISES ON LOWER LIMB POWER AND STABILITY OF VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS

Introduction: Flywheel training devices have initially been used as means of astronaut conditioning in outer space, during long missions. The system uses a rotating disc to store the energy during the concentric phase of the movement and converts it to resistance during the eccentric phase. The inertia of the flywheel offers the load of the exercise performed. Later, these devices started being used in injury rehabilitation and performance training. Objective: The objective of the study was to measure the effect of isoinertial exercises using a flywheel training device on lower limb power and stability. Also, we wanted to verify if a positive correlation can be found between force, power and stability. Methods: 15 female volleyball players were included in the study (N=15). Throughout 4 months, the subjects trained twice a week using the flywheel device. Initial and final tests were performed using OptoJump, Y balance test and the device’s own measuring system. The measured parameters were average power, average force, jump height and composite reach distance index. Results: Significant improvement have been found between the initial and final results for power, force, jump height and composite reach distance index p<.01. Conclusions: A flywheel isoinertial training device can be seen as a viable alternative for power and stability development for volleyball players

Das Reallabor Webergut: gemeinsam erforschen und erproben wir ein «gutes» Leben innerhalb der planetaren Grenzen

Im Reallabor Webergut in Zollikofen wird gemeinsam mit zukünftigen Bewohner·innen ein gutes Leben innerhalb der planetaren Grenzen transdisziplinär erprobt und erforscht. Gerade bei der Gestaltung einer nachhaltigen Wohn- und Ernährungsumgebung gibt es unterschiedliche Bedürfnisse, für welche mithilfe von Community Building sensibilisiert und partizipativ Lösungen erarbeitet werden.Dans le laboratoire réel du projet de village urbain Webergut à Zollikofen, une équipe de chercheuses et chercheurs, en cocréation avec les futur·e·s habitant·e·s, explore et expérimente de manière transdisciplinaire une vie durable respectueuse des limites de la planète dans les domaines de l’alimentation et de l’habitat. Les premiers résultats montrent entre autres que les futur·e·s habitant·e·s adoptent déjà une alimentation consciente, mais que celle-ci devrait toutefois être encore plus durable. Or, quand il s’agit d’organiser le logement et la consommation alimentaire de manière durable, l’on est confronté à différents besoins. La sensibilisation à ces divers besoins et la recherche de solutions collectives se font notamment par le biais du community building. Cette approche participative génère des impulsions importantes pour un changement structurel durable

Mimicking superinfection exclusion disrupts alphavirus infection and transmission in the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti

Multiple viruses, including pathogenic viruses, bacteriophages, and even plant viruses, cause a phenomenon termed superinfection exclusion whereby a currently infected cell is resistant to secondary infection by the same or a closely related virus. In alphaviruses, this process is thought to be mediated, at least in part, by the viral protease (nsP2) which is responsible for processing the nonstructural polyproteins (P123 and P1234) into individual proteins (nsP1–nsP4), forming the viral replication complex. Taking a synthetic biology approach, we mimicked this naturally occurring phenomenon by generating a superinfection exclusion-like state in Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, rendering them refractory to alphavirus infection. By artificially expressing Sindbis virus (SINV) and chikungunya virus (CHIKV) nsP2 in mosquito cells and transgenic mosquitoes, we demonstrated a reduction in both SINV and CHIKV viral replication rates in cells following viral infection as well as reduced infection prevalence, viral titers, and transmission potential in mosquitoes.</p

First aid in acute stroke: Introducing a concept of first action to laypersons

OBJECTIVE: First aid training is well established to teach the public how to recognize a medical emergency and take appropriate action. Though it is now handled as a high priority emergency stroke is not among the main topics of first aid. We investigated if first aid training may be useful for enhancing stroke awareness. METHODS: We developed a 15–20 minute teaching session about stroke as an emergency including signs and symptoms and first hands-on measures. The session was integrated in standard first aid training of the St John Ambulance of Germany and participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire regarding their knowledge about stroke. Subjects were questioned before the stroke lesson and again at the end of the training. RESULTS: 532 participants of the training responded to the questionnaire (mean age 28.6 years, 53.6% male). There was a significant increase in proportion of subjects correctly defining what stroke is (28.4% vs. 69.9%, p < 0,001) and in the mean number of stroke symptoms listed (1.52 vs. 3.35, p < 0,001) by the participants. The number of participants unable to list at least 1 symptom decreased significantly (12.8 vs. 3.6%, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In our study a teaching lesson integrated in first aid training was effective in improving stroke knowledge of participants. First aid training should be used for stroke information complementary to other activities like mass media campaigns as it is effective, could reach younger people that are not primarily interested in stroke and provides connections to other health topics

Toward a CRISPR-Cas9-based gene drive in the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella

Promising to provide powerful genetic control tools, gene drives have been constructed in multiple dipteran insects, yeast, and mice for the purposes of population elimination or modification. However, it remains unclear whether these techniques can be applied to lepidopterans. Here, we used endogenous regulatory elements to drive Cas9 and single guide RNA (sgRNA) expression in the diamondback moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella, and test the first split gene drive system in a lepidopteran. The DBM is an economically important global agriculture pest of cruciferous crops and has developed severe resistance to various insecticides, making it a prime candidate for such novel control strategy development. A very high level of somatic editing was observed in Cas9/sgRNA transheterozygotes, although no significant homing was revealed in the subsequent generation. Although heritable Cas9-medated germline cleavage as well as maternal and paternal Cas9 deposition were observed, rates were far lower than for somatic cleavage events, indicating robust somatic but limited germline activity of Cas9/sgRNA under the control of selected regulatory elements. Our results provide valuable experience, paving the way for future construction of gene drives or other Cas9-based genetic control strategies in DBM and other lepidopterans

Silencing RNAs expressed from W-linked PxyMasc “retrocopies” target that gene during female sex determination in Plutella xylostella

The Lepidoptera are an insect order of cultural, economic, and environmental importance, representing ∼10% of all described living species. Yet, for all but one of these species (silkmoth, Bombyx mori), the molecular genetics of how sexual fate is determined remains unknown. We investigated this in the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella), a globally important, highly invasive, and economically damaging pest of cruciferous crops. Our previous work uncovered a regulator of male sex determination in P. xylostella—PxyMasc, a homolog of B. mori Masculinizer—which, although initially expressed in embryos of both sexes, is then reduced in female embryos, leading to female-specific splicing of doublesex. Here, through sequencing small RNA libraries generated from early embryos and sexed larval pools, we identified a variety of small silencing RNAs (predominantly Piwi-interacting RNAs [piRNAs]) complementary to PxyMasc, whose temporal expression correlated with the reduction in PxyMasc transcript observed previously in females. Analysis of these small RNAs showed that they are expressed from tandemly arranged, multicopy arrays found exclusively on the W (female-specific) chromosome, which we term “Pxyfem”. Analysis of the Pxyfem sequences showed that they are partial complementary DNAs (cDNAs) of PxyMasc messenger RNA (mRNA) transcripts, likely integrated into transposable element graveyards by the noncanonical action of retrotransposons (retrocopies), and that their apparent similarity to B. mori feminizer more probably represents convergent evolution. Our study helps elucidate the sex determination cascade in this globally important pest and highlights the “shortcuts” that retrotransposition events can facilitate in the evolution of complex molecular cascades, including sex determination

Engineered expression of the invertebrate‐specific scorpion toxin AaHIT reduces adult longevity and female fecundity in the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella

Background: Previous Genetic Pest Management (GPM) systems in diamondback moth (DBM) have relied on expressing lethal proteins (‘effectors’) that are ‘cell‐autonomous’ i.e. do not leave the cell they are expressed in. To increase the flexibility of future GPM systems in DBM, we aimed to assess the use of a non cell‐autonomous, invertebrate‐specific, neurotoxic effector – the scorpion toxin AaHIT. This AaHIT effector was designed to be secreted by expressing cells, potentially leading to effects on distant cells, specifically neuromuscular junctions. Results: Expression of AaHIT caused a ‘shaking/quivering’ phenotype which could be repressed by provision of an antidote (tetracycline); a phenotype consistent with the AaHIT mode‐of‐action. This effect was more pronounced when AaHIT expression was driven by the Hr5/ie1 promoter (82.44% of males, 65.14% of females) rather than Op/ie2 (57.35% of males, 48.39% of females). Contrary to expectations, the shaking phenotype and observed fitness costs were limited to adults where they caused severe reductions in mean longevity (‐81%) and median female fecundity (‐93%). qPCR of AaHIT expression patterns and analysis of piggyBac‐mediated transgene insertion sites suggest that restriction of observed effects to the adult stages may be due to influence of local genomic environment on the tetO‐AaHIT transgene. Conclusion: We have demonstrated the feasibility of using non cell‐autonomous effectors within a GPM context for the first time in the Lepidoptera, one of the most economically damaging orders of insects. These findings provide a framework for extending this system to other pest Lepidoptera and to other secreted effectors

Zur Oberflächenkerbspannung geschliffener Gläser

Im allgemeinen gleichen sich die durch Schleifkerben hervorgerufenen Spannungen im Glase zum Teil aus. Wird dieser Ausgleich durch experimentelle Maßnahmen weitgehend verhindert, dann ist die Messung solcher Spannungen möglich, die den tatsächlich wirksamen Spannungen nahe kommen. Es wird gezeigt, wie die Oberflächenkerbspannungen durch Temperung oder einfache chemische Behandlung gemindert werden können. Diese Spannungsminderung ist mit einer Erhöhung der Zugfestigkeit verknüpf

Comparison of financing historic preservation of immovable cultural heritage owned by the state and private owners in the territory of the Czech Republic in 2024

This bachelor thesis addresses the financing of heritage conservation for immovable cultural heritage within the framework of ownership. The aim is to compare the allocation of public funds towards the conservation of immovable cultural heritage under state ownership versus private ownership, in relation to the national economy. The theoretical part examines the economic, historical, and institutional contexts of heritage conservation, defines key concepts, and outlines the legislative framework. The chapter dedicated to the restitution of immovable cultural heritage explains the reasons behind the current ownership structure of immovable cultural heritage. The practical section analyzes various methods of financing and evaluates their effectiveness in relation to the state budget. It considers not only the preservation of the immovable heritage fund but also its cultural utilization and public interest. The research primarily relies on data available from the Ministry of Culture, the cultural statistics of the Czech Republic, and the annual reports of the Supreme Audit Office.Bakalářská práce se zabývá financováním památkové péče o nemovité památky v kontextu vlastnictví. Cílem je porovnat vynakládání veřejných financí do péče o nemovité památky ve vlastnictví státu a ve vlastnictví soukromých majitelů ve vztahu k národnímu hospodářství. Teoretická část zkoumá ekonomické, historické a institucionální souvislosti památkové péče, definuje klíčové pojmy a legislativní rámec. Kapitola věnovaná restitucím nemovitých kulturních památek vysvětluje příčiny současné vlastnické struktury. Praktická část rozebírá jednotlivé způsoby financování a hodnotí jejich efektivitu vzhledem ke státnímu rozpočtu. Bere v potaz nejen zachování nemovitého památkového fondu, ale i jeho kulturní využití a veřejný zájem. Výzkum je proveden především na datech dostupných ze stránek Ministerstva kultury, Národního informačního a poradenského střediska pro kulturu a výročních zpráv Nejvyššího kontrolního úřadu